THE PARISH OF CENTRAL EXETER CHURCHES OF ST MARY ARCHES, ST OLAVE, ST PANCIiAS, ST PETLOCL 5T STEPHEN GtVlNG BREATHING SPACE,, LIVING THE VALUES: ENGAGING WITH THE CITY The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Central Exeter Annual Report and Unaudited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.
Introdurtion to 2024 Annual Re This last year has seen significant change to the area adjoining St Stephen's church with the redevelopment of the House of Fraser department store into Hotel Indigo- a luxury boutique hotel. The former store has still managed to retain some retail units on the ground floor together with bars and eateries associated with the hotel. This could be said to make up in some way for the loss of the Royal Clarence Hotel, which although its exterior may be retained seems now destined to morph into domestic accommodation. As a parlsh we are acutely aware of the ever-changing pattern of activity within the city centre and try to provide some sense of long-term continuity through the continuing presence of our medieval churches- which are themselves important features of the city landscape. Administratlve Information The Parish of Central Exeter is a charity which is registered with the Charity Commissioners, number 1134851. It is part of the Diocese of Exeter within the Church of England. The correspondence address is Parish Administrator, 3, Blackthorn Way, Cullompton EX15 IQH. Parish Churches St Stephen, High Street, Exeter EX4 3LN Daughter Churches St Mary Arches, Mary Arches Street, Exeter EX4 3BA St Pancras, Guildhall Centre, Exeter EX4 3HW St Petrock, H igh Street, Exeter EX4 3DT St Olave, Fore Street, Exeter EX4 3AT Team Rector Revd Sheila Swarbrick Ministry Team Revd Sheila Swarbrick, 7 Lower Kings Avenue, Exeter EX4 6JT Bank Lloyds Bank, High Street, Exeter, EX4 3NL Independent Examiner Simon Gay, 14A, Church Road, St Thomas, Exeter EX2 9AY Membership Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church Representation rules.
5t PCC members who have served from l January 2023 until the date that this report was approved are: Ministry Team: Revd Sheila Swarbrick Chalr Keith Walton until April 2023 then Revd Sheila Swarbrick The Churchwardens: Keith Walton, Betsy Allen Representatives of Deanery Synod= Jessica Claridge, Celia Smith The Elected Members from 2022: Don Brantonlresigned September 2023), Richard Skinner, Viv Asher, The Elected Members from 2023 Helen Evans, Claire Mayer {There were no elections in 20211 The following officers were appointed: Treasurer: Sean Swarbrick Secretary: Mary Keaney Structure Governance and Mana ement Commlttees The Planning Committee IClor8y, Churchwardensl meets in between full PCC meetinss. Other ad hoc committees and working groups are created and terminated as needed. The full PCC met for ordinary meetings four times during the year, all being face to face, and for one extraordinary meeting online. The average attendance {ordinary meetings) was 75¥0. Aim and Pur oses Statement 'The PCC is required, as stated in the Parochial Church Councils {Powers} Measure 1966, to co-operate with the Parish Priest, in promoting in the Parish the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical,. Icontinues)
Ob"ectives and Activities The Parish's vision, goals and actions are stated in full in the Mission Action Plan. Vision Being part of God's mission of love and reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ, we are committed to: Giving breathing space Living the values Engaging with the City Objectives (goals) We will achieve our vision by working together with others as we pursue the following goals: To attract more people to enter and use our churches and find it a positive experience; To encourage visitors, church members and church users on their spiritual journey, challenging towards deeper levels of Christian commitment; To meet our on-going parish commitments, seeklng efficient and effective use of our resources with other Anglican or Ecumenical colleagues. In carrying out their work the Trustees take due regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit. Continuing Artivities We have been 3ble to keep all our churches open on weekdays and for the now established pattern of services at St Stephen's on the first, third and fifth Sunday of each month, St Pancras on the second, and St Olave on the fourth. We continued to provide an online service sheet as an alternative to the 8.00 am service in St Pancras, which is also used as a basis for discussion in the ensuing zoom meeting. The lunchtime service of Communion in St Pancras has been maintained monthly on Thursdays at 12.00. Voluntary organisations are able to use the churches for approved purposes on request and subject to terms and conditions. Continuing activities (maintained in various formats throughout the year) include: Variety of worship services as outlined above. Lent Groups Summer concerts and other music activities Exhibitions 'Inner Room, poetry workshops (Continues)
Use of the parish website to communicate with and provide support to the parish members and the general public. Jewish Circle Dancing Prayers round the Cross bi-monthly Seeking Silence Book Club Achievements and Performance Church Attendance There are 35 Parishioners on the church electoral roll of which 33 are not resident within the Parish. Average Sunday attendance in-church is about 19, supplemented by others who used online worship sheets. Attendance in-church at Easter 2023 was 22 plus 6 at home communions and 19 on Christmas Day. Community use of Churches St Stephen's continues to be the main church for community use. During the late autumn of 2022 a new venture started in this building- Safe Space, open three nights a week, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, from 11 pm to 3.30 am., and this use continued for most of 2023. Since Autumn 2023 this venture had been on hold as they try to obtain new sources of long-term funding. Safe Space serves three main purposes - light medical treatment like cuts, sprains, recovery, blisters; welfare support like counselling, phone chargin& water, safety alarms, bottle tops, change of clothes and a safe and warm place to wait for transport home. We have also seen a continued steady use of St Stephen's by the Armed Forces Veterans, Support Group, Exeter Network Church and of St Stephen's and St Pancras by the Russian and Romanian Orthodox churches. In total in St Stephen's we hosted over 270 separate events including worship services, Bible Study, prayer meetings, support groups, concerts and coffee mornings. St Petrock's continues to host support group meetings, the Exeter Guild of Bell-ringers plus their library, and we have developed a regular programme of exhibitions. With the main body of the Quire in Exeter Cathedral being out of use for renovation and excavation, the Dean and Chapter have been using St Petrock's for daily morning prayer and eucharist and St Pancras for a weekly communion service lunchtime on Wednesdays. St Pancras is on the register of Small Pilgrim Places and is open daily for private prayer, with monthly BCP Communion and monthly shortened lunchtime Communion services. Seeking Silence continues as a monthly time of meditation on the first Wednesday of the month.
St Olave's IS the church used least by the community, largely because of its fixed pews, but was used during Lent for a weekly service of compline. St Mary Arches is now leased to Unlimited Church -. the Diocesan youth church and holds a number of activities to attract young people. Parlsh Activities As outlined earlier the pattern of our church services was changed for 2022. We have re- introduced lunches for the Summer Concerts, and restsrted Prayers around the Cros5 at St Pancras, We supported the Fore Street Flea Market with St Olave's taking part in this event. The Christmas St Nic's Fayre was also able to take place as a parish fundraiser, The Inner Room, launched in 2020 as a parish outreach project has continued to flourish with a mixture of face to face and zoom activities. The Room to Write events which give participants prompts to write poetry is now self-contained without needing regular input from Helen Evans - the project champion. We are delighted to have been able to run live events in St Stephens and St Olaves, giving opportunity to create poems using visual prompts including the use of the paintings hanging in St Olaves. Our Facebook page is continually updated along with the website. We continue to support the Exeter Community Initiative, St Petrock's Centre for the Homeless, and the Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy, as well as a programtne of monthly giving to selected local, national and international charities. We are ensuring that members of the PCC receive appropriate Safeguarding clearances and training to their level of involvement in the Parish. The churchwardens have continued to meet informally with their counterpart5 at St Davids to explore ways in which we can work more closely together. With the retirement of the St David's rector there is now a vacancy in that parish, and we need to wait until this is filled before exploring in any depth how future co-operation might work. Icontlnues)
Church Buildin85. The PCC has continued to undertake all the necessary repair and rnaintenan of the churches in the Parish, mostly resulting from normal wear and tear, pests and occasional abuse or vandalism. The quinquennial surveys of St Stephens and Stolaves havetaken place with the report from St Stephen's now available and that from St Olaves expected shortly. Links with other churcheslorganisations The Parish continues to be invofved with the Exeter City Centre Chaplaincy. The Revd Sheila Swarbrick has continued to provide a vital link between the parish and other churches in the Cent of Exeter and Diocese at all levels both formally and informally. Poliry The PCC is kept abreast of Parish responsibilities under the Safeguarding legislation by our designated representative. We have taken due regard to the guidance issued by the House of Bishops on matters relating to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults. The churchwardens and PCC members have completed their required Safeguarding Training. A Safeguarding policy document is in place. We have a Health and Safety Officer and our H&S policy is reviewed as necessary. We introduced a Data Security policy and have issued appropriate privacy notices and received and recorded consents for use of data as required by the General Personal Data Regulations. Financial Revlew The total Income for the Parish in 2023 was £73,588, of which £5,000 was restricted funding for specific projects. This rneans that £68,538 represents income derived from 'normal' parish activities. Expenditure of £53,215 gave us an excess of total income by £20,373. This is largely because of increased use of the churches by outside bodies especially the Cathedral. Howeverthis can only be seen as a one-off. The target parlsh (unrestricted) income budget for 2024 has been agreed by the PCC at £52,5(X). Re5erve5 Pollcy In 2013 the PCC agreed to a reserves policy of 4 times the monthly average expenditure, which equates to £17,5(K) for 2024 Approved by the PCC on Date and signed on their behalf by: GL SvJac Sheila Swarbrick PCC Chair (Continues)
The Parochial Church Council of the Parish of Central Exeter Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 December 2023 Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Totsl Funds Prev Year Note INCOMif4G RESOURCES Voluntsry Income Activities for Eenerating funds Income from savings Church Activities 21al 2{bl 21cl 21dl 32.278 1,888 579 33,843 5.000 37.278 1,888 579 33,843 40,757 3,479 105 9,948 TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES 68,588 73,588 54,289 RESOURCES EXPENDED Church Activities .Fund-raising trading costs Governance Costs 31a} 31bl 31cl 52,486 729 53215 64,426 367 200 TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 52.486 729 53,215 64,993 NET INCOMING RESOURCES 16,102 4,271 20.373 -10,704 Translers between funds NEf MOVEMENT IN FUNDS 16,102 4,271 20,373 -10,704 BALANCES B/FWD start of year 49,395 4,456 53,851 77,005 BALANCES CIFWD end of period 65,497 8,727 74,224 66,301 {Continues}
The Parochial Church Council of the Parish of Central Exeter Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2023 Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds T¢tal Funds Total Funds Prev Year Notes FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets 9.889 CURRETrif ASS5 Debtors Deposit account Shared Interest Account Cash at bank 1,650 18,450 5,042 40,355 65,497 1,650 18.450 5.042 49,082 74.224 1,756 17,036 8.727 8,727 58,221 86,902 LIABIUTIES Creditots- all amounts fallin8 (lue in one year 20,601 Totol assets less current liabilities 65,497 8,727 74,224 66,301 TOTAL NET ASSETS 65,497 8.727 74,224 66,301 REPRESEfrifED BY Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds 65,497 65,497 8,727 74,224 30,569 35,732 66,301 8.727 65.497 8,727 {Continues)
The Parochlal Church Council of the Parish of Central Exeter Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ending 31 December 2023. and forming an integral part of the statements. l Accounting policles Basis of financial statements The financial statements have been prepared under the Church Accounting regulations 2006 in accordance with applicable accounting standards and the current Statement of Recommended Pr3Ctice Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2005). The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and the financial statements include all transactions, assets and liabilities for which the PCC is responsible in law. (a) Funds The General Fund represents the funds of the PCC that are not subject to any restrictions regarding their use and are available for application on the general purposes of the PCC. Designated are general funds set aside by the PCC for use in the future and remain unrestricted. Restricted funds are those donated for use in a particular area or for a specific purpose, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose. (b) Incoming resources Planned giving, collections and donations are recognised when received. Income tax recoverable on Gift Aid donations is recognised when the income is recognised. Grants and legacies to the PCC are accounted for as soon as the PCC is notified of its legal entitlement, the amount due is quantifiable and its ultimate receipt by the PCC is reasonably certain. Funds raised by fundraising events are accounted for gross. Income received from use of PCC property is on a voluntary basis dependent on the ability to pay and therefore accounted for only when received. (c) Resources expended Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to the expenditure. The Common Fund contribution is accounted for when paid. {Contlnues) io
(d) Fixed Assets Consecrated and beneficed property is not included in the accounts in accordance with s.10(2}(a) and (c} of the Charities Act 2011. Moveable church furnishings held by the Incumbent and Churchwardens on special trust for the PCC and require a faculty for disposal are inalienable property. listed in the church's inventory which can be inspected {at any reasonable time). For anything acquired prior to 2000 there is insufficient information available and therefore such assets are not valued in the financial statements. Subsequently no individual item has cost over £2,000 so all such expenditure has been written off when incurred. Equipment used within the church premises is depreciated on a straight-line basis over 4 years. Equipment wlth a purchase price of £2,000 or less is written off when acquired. Unrestricted Funds Restricted Funds Total Funds INCOMING RESOURCES 21al Voluntary Income Tax efficient planned givlng Collection51gpen platel Recurring donations Non recurring donations Tax recoverable on planned & non recurring donations Recurring grants Other grants 10,032 710 3.492 3.935 10,032 710 3,492 3,935 3,152 10,957 3,152 10.957 5,(X)O 5,CQO 32,278 37,278 21bl Artl¥Sties for Generating funds Fund-raising 1,888 1,888 1,888 1,888 21cl Income from savin85 Interest from deposit account Interest from Shared Interest Acc 573 573 578 578 21dl Incarne from church activities Use of church buildin8s - local community Other Fees retained 31,618 2,122 104 31,618 2,122 104 33,844 33,844 21e) Other incoming resour¢es MislIaneOUS Totsl Incoming Resourtes 68,588 73.588 li
RESOURCES EXPENDED 31al thurth Artlvltl Missionary and charitable 8ivin8 Overseas missionlaid Local charities UK & Internaiional charities 635 635 1,290 470 1,290 470 2,395 2395 Ministry.. Diocesan parish share Clergy expenses Cost of seNices Church upkeep & mainlenance Utilities Administration Miscellaneous Furniture & fittings Depreciation .9,469 107 95 19,223 12.471 7,328 1,398 9.469 107 95 729 19.952 12,471 7,328 1,398 52,486 729 S3.215 31b) Fund-ralsing trading costs 31el Govemance costs TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 52,486 729 53.215 The PCC does not employ any staff and ha5 not made any payments to PCC members for remuneratlon. TANGIBLE FIXED A55ETS NIA Unrestricted Funds Restrirted Funds Total Funds DEBTORS Tax recoverable Other debtors Prepayments and accrue(l income 1,650 1,650 1,650 1,650 LIABIUTIES Payments held on trust for charities Creditor5 Other creditors Accruals 12
REsfRICTED FUNDS Churches Upkeep Fund Fund Movements Totsl funds Balance at Istjanuary In£omin8 ReSoUrS Resources Expended FundsTransfer Balan¢e at 31st December 4.456 4.456 -728 -728 8,728 8,728 Net a$5ets of rettrlrted funds Tangible fixed assets Tax recoverable Acmied Income Deposit a¢¢ount current COUnt liabillties (all wrthln one year) 8,728 8.728 8.728 8.728 9 Explanatlon of Restritted Funds The Churches Upkeep Fund is a restricted fund for donations and grants given to the Parish speciflcally for the upkeep of the churches for which the PCC 15 Tesponsible and would include running costs and repair and maintenance. Approved by the PCC on 6- 2< and 5iEned on its behalf by IJ. kp/d Sheila Swarbrick (Chainnan) Sean Swarbrick (Treasurer} 13
DIOCESE OFEXETER Independent Examinerfs Certificate forthe PCC Accounts THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN DEVON Report lo the tru8lèe5 ot. arochlal Church Councll On accounts for the year ended: SI/iz/z< ChaTity Nurnbor lif applubl8).' iU4851 Resp4ctiv8 Kgsponslbilfties The charws trustee$ are responsible for the prepar8)"on of the accounts. The of trustoes and gxamlner charity's tnthes considef that all aLEdit is not requiièd for this year under sect5on 144 of the Charilies Act 2011 (tha Chadties A¢tl and that an independent exaffitnation is t)eeded. It is my SPonSIbl11ty to.. examlne the accounts under section 145 ofthe Charittes A¢ to foltow Ihe proceclures laid down w) the general Directions gNen by lJ)e Charity Comfflission (under section 145(511bl of the Charflies Act, and 10 8tate whether partiwl8r m8tteTS have come lo my attention. 88sls of Indendant My examlnatlon was caffred oul in accordance with gerFeral Direth'ons given by the &xamlnerfs ststement Ckarity Commissh)n. An exaUll0110n in¢Sudes 8 review of accountsng TecorLIs kept bythe ¢hafity and a cowartson ofthe aGtOUEts presented wrth those rec$. It atso includes u)nsrderalion of any unusual items or discJ0su in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees conceming any su¢h mattors. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an 8udil. and consequently no opinK7n is gwan as to Wther the acmjnts present a 'InJe and fairf view and the re[rt is limrted to thosg matters set oul fft the statemnt below. Indèpondent examlnfs In eonnèction wlh my exgminalion, no matter has come to myattention lotherihan statom&nt th disclosed below'l 1. which gives me reasOnae cause lo beli&ve that in, any material respect, the requirements.. lo keep anting refX)rds in accortsance w#h SeOn 130 ofthe Charitfes Act", and to prepare accounts 2¢h accord with the accounting rec¥)rds and comply with the acthunling requirements of the ChariLÉes A have not been met,. or 2. to which, in my opinfon, attention should be dravm in order to latr4e a proper lerstandg of th8 aco)unts to be reached. ' Please delele the v/ords in the brack&ts if they do nol apply. $19ned: Name.. Relevant profèssionttl qualificallorfs} or body (If anyl- f 4 Address: Z,